Central America is planning to take a more integrated approach to marketing in Europe and the UK.
At the Central America Travel Market 2008, in Managua, Nicaragua, tourism ministers and top executives said the seven nations would be pulling together to market the region overseas.
As tourism grows from Panama in the south to Guatemala in the north, they are looking to market their collective strengths, such as Mayan heritage, Hispanic cities, ecotourism, and their Pacific and Atlantic coastlines.
The joint promotional campaign and logo ‘Central America…so small….so great’ will be touted at World Travel Market in London next month.
“We are now working hard with the UK, France and Spain to promote Central America,†Antonio Pimentel, vice president for aero-political affairs at Iberia.
“Traffic to the region is growing by 15-16% year-on-year.â€
From 2009 Iberia will start a 12th weekly flight to the region. Iberia has already added a fourth weekly flight to Guatemala and KLM has opened up a route to Panama.
“The region is growing twice as fast as the world average,†said Ruben Rochi Parker, the tourism minister for El Salvador.
“And we are looking to promote Central America as a multi-destination region to Europe.â€
The weakness of the dollar and the high value of the euro were cited as reasons why Central America is shifting its marketing to Europe.
“This market looks good for us because of the strength of the currency and we need to exploit this if we are to be successful,†says Mario Salinas, tourism minister for Nicaragua.
Currently Costa Rica is the most popular destination for British travellers to Central America, accounting for over half the market.
Over 60 agents in the UK sell the Central America region, which also consists of Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Panama.
Cristina Cunchillos, UK representative for CATA, the Central American tourism agency, said the lack of direct airlift from the UK is hindering traffic growth.
But Iberia’s Pimental does not expect direct flights from the UK to the region anytime soon, even with the potential merger between British Airways at Iberia.
“The problem with these markets is the yield, since most of it is tourist traffic, not business,†he said.
Over 100 exhibitors and 145 wholesalers attended the CATM event.
By Nick Easen
